England have called up Worcester Warriors prop Matt Mullan as cover for the injured Joe Marler.

The Warriors front-rower will link up with the national side tonight at St George's Park. Quins prop Marler is struggling with a tight hamstring but played a full match for Harlequins in their win over London Irish on Sunday.

Mullan has just one England cap to his name which came back in the 2010 Six Nations when he made his debut from the bench against Italy as a second-half replacement for Tim Payne. And Mullan started both of England's midweek matches on their June tour of South Africa.

He has excelled for Worcester on the domestic scene and he captained the Warriors in their 23-16 win over Sale on Friday evening and similar to Marler, he played the full 80 minutes.

Although his inclusion is just a precautionary measure, the news will do little to lighten the mood around the England camp with Stuart Lancaster facing an anxious wait over the fitness of some of his players. Dylan Hartley and Courtney Lawes were both injured in Northampton's loss to Saracens at the weekend and the pair will have scans tonight with an update on their progress expected to be released at 1700 (GMT) on Tuesday.

London Irish hooker David Paice and Harlequins' second-row George Robson have already been added to the England mix to cover Hartley and Lawes' injuries. England will also be monitoring the fitness of Jonathan Joseph after he limped off against Harlequins on Sunday. Chris Robshaw was also forced to leave the field with an eye injury while Ben Youngs failed to pass a fitness test ahead of Leicester's trip to Gloucester due to a tight hamstring.